De chaque instant

How do young students deal with pain, illness, fear and death? Nicolas Philibert follows students during three years of nursing school, and in three chapters he reveals just how hard it is for them. Each of the parts—respectively focusing on theory, practice and performance reviews—is preceded by a sentence from a poem by Yves Bonnefoy.

Just as he did in his major breakthrough film Être et avoir, the director lets the images do the talking. The students are expected to acquire enormous amounts of medical knowledge and to master countless, often intimate, tasks—which they initially practice on one another and on dolls. The second part examines the intense pressures they have to work under during their internships. Nervously, they replace bandages, attempt to reassure patients, insert an IV and remove stitches—always aware that they must perform these tasks without error. It takes a lot of practice to develop a level of routine and confidence, and for some it’s a very bumpy road to the finish line.

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